Sony’s PlayStation is soaring, offering top-of-the-line titles and attracting millions of players around the world. The company’s digital sales accounted for 32% of all of Sony’s game sales – people are flocking to digital options.
And this has led people to buy PSN cards.
If you look back to April, you’ll find that Sony was still winning the console war, selling over 75 million consoles since November 2013. This figure is up to the 76-million-77-million mark.
Sony’s PSN network has, roughly, 80 million monthly active users.
People are flocking to buy a PSN card online, play their favorite games and benefit from never having to leave their house to buy their PSN cards.
But if you’re late to the party or are considering buying a PSN card, there are a few things to know before making your purchase.
1. You Can Purchase Downloadable Content With a PSN Card
Why would you want to buy a PSN card? It’s a card that’s fun for the entire family. You’ll have unlimited entertainment options at your fingertips. When you choose PSN, you’re choosing variety.
Called “Cash Cards,” these cards can be purchased for yourself or someone else.
And you can even buy digital cards if you don’t want to buy a physical card. When choosing digital cards, you benefit from:
[list style=’regular’]
[list_item]Immediate access to your card’s value and the entertainment that it offers[/list_item]
[/list]
Physical cards also allow you to plug in a code and leverage PSN’s benefits. The problem is that you either need to wait for the card to arrive in the mail, or you can purchase the card online and start using the digital card immediately.
A PSN card unlocks all digital content, including:
[list style=’regular’]
[list_item]Game add-ons[/list_item]
[list_item]Full length movies[/list_item]
[list_item]Downloadable games[/list_item]
[list_item]Television shows[/list_item]
[list_item]PlayStation Plus subscriptions[/list_item]
[/list]
Your favorite game titles are more than likely leveraging the extra, revenue-driving PSN content. You’ll be able to purchase add-ons for your favorite games along with other downloadable content.
And with 32% of PlayStation’s game sales coming through digital sales, you can be sure that all of the most anticipated titles of the year are available as downloadable content.
Now, what happens if you’re like a lot of people and don’t have the PlayStation 4 yet? A lot of people feel like they might as well wait for the PS5 to come out in a few years before taking the plunge.
Well, the good news is that all cards are compatible with:
[list style=’regular’]
[list_item]PlayStation 4[/list_item]
[list_item]PlayStation 3[/list_item]
[list_item]LPS Vita systems[/list_item]
[/list]
Now, you can also purchase a PlayStation Plus subscription with your PSN card. I highly recommend doing this because the PS Plus subscription provides immense value to your gaming experience.
As a subscriber, you’ll pay just $5 a month, and you’ll get:
[list style=’regular’]
[list_item]Exclusive discounts[/list_item]
[list_item]Free games[/list_item]
[list_item]The ability to play with friends[/list_item]
[/list]
The free games alone are worth the price. You’ll find a lot of great titles available for the low price of $5 per month.
There is a lot that you can do with your PSN card.
2. You Can Buy a PSN Card Online, or at a Brick and Mortar Store
I know when I buy someone a gift, I don’t want to send them the gift digitally. Instead, I prefer to wrap up the gift and hand it to them or send it to them in the mail. There’s always something nice about unwrapping a gift, even if it is a gift card.
But you need to judge this on your own. There is a huge shift in what consumers want in today’s digital world.
The majority of people, over 55%, prefer receiving a gift card versus a physical gift. Why? These individuals would rather make their own purchases for items they want than let someone else choose the items for them.
So, by buying a physical gift card, you can do two things:
[list style=’regular’]
[list_item]Provide someone with the gift card they want[/list_item]
[list_item]Allow for the satisfaction of opening up the wrapped gift card[/list_item]
[/list]
You’ll find a lot of online retailers that are offering to send you your PSN card. If you need to give someone their gift now, buy PSN cards at your favorite retailers:
[list style=’regular’]
[list_item]Walmart[/list_item]
[list_item]Target[/list_item]
[list_item]Most retailers[/list_item]
[/list]
I have seen a gift card station at my local supermarket, which offers a variety of different gift card options. So, if you don’t want to buy a PSN card online, you can always opt to go to a brick and mortar store to make your purchase.
One of the biggest benefits of going to a brick and mortar store to buy a PSN card is that you’ll never have to worry about a scam. You’ll receive the card directly in your hand. This is a lot safer than using something like eBay, Craigslist or even Facebook’s Marketplace to make a purchase.
3. Don’t Buy PSN Cards from Scammers
Scammers are targeting gift cards across the world. It’s an easy scam, and a lot of the times, it’s the buyer’s lack of common sense that leads to the scam. You’ll need to do a bit of your own due diligence when buying PSN cards online.
Brick and mortar stores don’t have this level of scams, although I have heard instances where pin codes have been stolen.
When you choose to make a gift card purchase online, you need to do a few things to try and protect against scams:
Site age. You’ll want to view the site’s age. If the site was put up yesterday, it doesn’t have a history of scams or not. You’re taking a risk with new sites unless they come from a well-known brand. You can check the history by using: https://web.archive.org. Just type in the site’s URL and look at the archiving history. Also, be on the lookout for a site that has changed its main offerings too often. A site may be sold multiple times to new owners that scam people and then ditch the site after they’ve been found out.
Testimonials. Always start searching for testimonials and reviews right away. You can type in the site’s URL on Google followed by:
[list style=’regular’]
[list_item]Scam[/list_item]
[list_item]Reviews[/list_item]
[list_item]Testimonials[/list_item]
[/list]
When you search for testimonials and information on a site, you want to look for real information. It’s easy to purchase fake reviews, so look at the language used in the reviews and when they’re posted. If the site has 50 reviews and 40 of them were in the last two days, or last week and before that there weren’t many, there’s a good chance reviews are being purchased.
You can also check out the Better Business Bureau for any complaints that may exist.
Okay, that helps you stay a bit safer when buying from a website, but what about when buying from an auction site or marketplace?
Well, this can be tricky.
A few words of caution are:
[list style=’regular’]
[list_item]If a deal is too good to be true, avoid it. Most people aren’t going to part with a $50 card for $10.[/list_item]
[list_item]Be careful when buying from new users. When using eBay or the like, remain very cautious and scour through the seller’s history a bit. This will allow you to be able to determine if they have made successful sales in the recent past.[/list_item]
[/list]
You’ll also want to make sure that the expiration is valid (read below), and you’ll also want to make sure that the balance is accurate. There are some people that buy PSN cards and then find out that the remaining balance is $0.
Don’t fall for these scams.
When making a purchase online, also try to avoid using your debit card. Why? Credit cards will have scam protections and may be able to refund you the amount debited from the account. Debit card purchases take money directly out of your account, and this means that even if a reversal can be made, you’ll be without your money while an investigation into the matter takes place.
4. Online Retailers Allow You to Pay Using a Wide Range of Payment Options
Traditional retailers have been stuck in the past for far too long. I can’t believe that Sears is filing for bankruptcy, Toys R’ Us did the same, and let’s not forget Blockbuster and some of the other big names that had to close their doors.
Many retailers stick to what used to work and forget about what their customers of today actually want.
Online retailers that include the big-name retailers don’t offer the wide array of payment options that smaller retailers are offering. If you want to purchase your PSN card with a wide range of payment options, brick and mortar stores won’t cut it.
Larger retailers, even online, often offer just debit card and traditional credit card purchases.
It’s the smaller, trusted online entities that are offering more payment options. When you choose these outlets, you’ll be able to make payments using a range of payment providers:
[list style=’regular’]
[list_item]Credit cards[/list_item]
[list_item]Debit cards[/list_item]
[list_item]Gift cards (in some cases)[/list_item]
[list_item]PayPal, Skrill, etc.[/list_item]
[/list]
This is a great option if you have money tied up in a payment processor, such as PayPal. You’ll also find that online methods are a great option if you want to purchase a PSN card from a different country.
For example, you may want to buy a card from Canada that’s for someone in Canada while you live in the US. If the retailer is offering a special price on these cards, it only makes sense that you take the dive and pay with PayPal or something that will convert the currency for you.
I like the freedom of using different payment options, and I am also able to keep my anonymity because of cryptocurrencies and other payment options. It’s all about the freedom of payment for the consumer, and smaller online retailers tend to offer this benefit that a lot of larger retailers have seemingly not implemented by choice.
5. PSN Gift Cards Have an Expiration Date
Gift cards do expire, and this means that when you make your purchase, you have to look at the card’s expiration date beforehand. I must say this is a hot topic of debate because the back of the cards doesn’t have expiration dates.
But there are still others that claim that they do expire one year from the purchase date.
The problem is, in the United States, a lot of states have started to create expiration laws. This means that gift cards are not allowed to expire, and a lot of states will not allow for a period of less than five years before an expiration is allowed.
It’s a way to safeguard the consumer.
But it really depends on the country. In either case, the card will not list the expiration date, which to me, is on the border of fraud.
The neat thing is that the funds will not expire from your account, so you can claim the gift card and keep the funds in the account. You don’t need to worry about the funds in the account expiring, which is really nice.
Sony is not responsible if you purchase a PSN gift card that doesn’t work – the seller is responsible.
When using eBay or something similar, this might mean that you’ll never get your money back. I recommend that you always buy from a legitimate service to make sure that the card will still work. You’ll also want to consider the country’s laws where the card was purchased.
If a US card expires, it may be against the law in some states, and in this case, Sony will need to replace the card or do something similar to reimburse the buyer. But again, Sony may claim that since you purchased the card from a third-party, the third-party is responsible for the replacement.
This is why it’s so important to purchase a PSN card from a legitimate, secure seller.
Remember: funds will stay in your “wallet” permanently. So, if deposited into your account, you don’t have to worry about your funds unless Sony was ready to claim bankruptcy.
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